A Study in Human Nature 



An Interpretation of Hoffmann s 

"Christ in the 



Temple" 




Second Edition 
LEMUEL E. GIBSON and 
W. J, PILKINGTON 




Class 

Book £ 



G)IPghtN _ 



CQEXRIGHT DEPOSfT. 



A Study in Human Nature 



Being an Interpretation with 

Character Analysis Chart of Hoffmann's 

Master Painting 



^Christ in the 
Temple" 



Interpretations by 
LEMUEL E K £IBSON 

Written by W^JlPILKINGTON 



SECOND EDITION 
Copyrighted 1920 



Publishers 

The 
Human Nature Studq Institute 

Des Moines, lou?a 



.T5 



§CU60$300 



24 ! 



PICTURES TALK 



A picture will speak to any individual in his 
wn native tongue, no matter what his lan- 
o guage may be; it will talk in the manner of 
' his own age, be it child or adult. 

A picture can speak all languages and talk 
)to all ages, at one and the same time. Not 
another thing under the canopy of Heaven can 
do this, excepting nature itself. 

It is our ambition and desire to have every 
boy and girl in the land see and know this 
great picture. Every Home, every School, 
every Church should have a good copy of this 
wonderful painting on the wall. 



"CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE" 



Hoffmann's Inspiration. 

42 And when he was twelve years old, they 
went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the 
feast. 

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as 
they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind 
in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew 
not of it. 

44 But they, supposing him to have been 
in the company, went a day's journey; and 
they sought him among their kinsfolk and ac- 
quaintance. 

45 And when they found him not, they 
turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 

46 And it came to pass, that after three 
days they found him in the temple, sitting in 
the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, 
and asking them questions. 

47 And all that heard him were astonished 
at his understanding and answers. 

—Luke 2:42-47. 

—3— 



A STUDY IN HUMAN NATURE 



An Interpretation of Hoffmann's "Christ in 
the Temple" 

Before proceeding with the interpretation of 
any picture, that is, before attempting to find 
out what it was the artist had in mind when 
he painted the picture, we will do well to first 
understand some of the great underlying prin- 
ciples of human nature. 

The first principle that we deal with, in 
considering the artist, is that none of us get 
out of our lives a single thing that we have 
not first, at some time or other, put into our 
lives. In other words, the artist can never 
put on canvas a single thing that he has not 
first put into his own life. This broad prin- 
ciple is just as true of the man working in the 
ditch, the farmer, the salesman, the merchant, 
the manufacturer, the machinist, or the pro- 
fessional man as it is true of the artist. 

Now, that we have established this prin- 
ciple, let us proceed to tell something about, 
and to understand something of the life of 
Hoffmann, the painter of the masterpiece, 
"Christ in the Temple." 

Those who were acquainted with Hoffmann 
tell us that he was a man of very deep spir- 
itual characteristics, and along with this was 
his intense interest in human beings. It seems 
that his life was made up of desires to want to 
lift people higher; to paint that which would 
cause people to live better lives and to see life 
from a bigger view-point. 

We understand that his home was a very 
modest one, a home where home friendships 
and home loves were very strong. Quietness, 
deep thinking and abiding interest in the Al- 
mighty were some of the characteristics of 
the Hoffmann home. 

Mr. Hoffmann has been frequently criticised 
because some of the finer touches in this pic- 



ture were not as smooth and as artistic as 
some of the artists thought they should be, 
and in commenting on this Mr. Hoffmann is 
said to have remarked to a man who is now 
the president of one of Iowa's great colleges, 
that what he was seeking to do in the picture 
was to paint THOUGHT instead of artistic 
beauty, and after you have read this inter- 
pretation of this picture you will see that Mr. 
Hoffmann did paint "thought" into the pic- 
ture. 

Before leaving the artist let us again repeat 
the principle that the artist only puts on can- 
vas that which he has within his own life. In 
other words, the picture is a part of the very 
life of the artist; and this is just as true of 
any of us in building anything. The business 
man only builds a business that is in keeping 
with the breadth, and depth, and strength 
of his own life. The professional man only 
builds a following and a reputation that is 
in keeping with what he has within himself. 

The kind of a person you are, or if not al- 
ready matured in life, the kind of a person 
you are going to be, is found in one or more 
of the six characters represented in this master 
painting. You are there. We are all there 
in representation, that is, so far as our char- 
acteristics are concerned. And in this picture 
are the underlying principles of the study of 
human nature. The principles that the busi- 
ness man, the salesman, the physician, the 
attorney, the schoolman, in fact the principles 
that any thinking person needs to understand 
are there; and they are the very principles, or 
rules, in the making of our lives. 

No lecture, or sermon, can possibly make a 
stronger plea, or be a greater power for, or 
have more influence in moulding character 
into our lives than does this marvelous picture, 
once it is understood. 

The characters represented in this master 
painting. "Christ in the Temple," by Henrick 
Johann Hoffmann, are, first: The Boy Christ, 

—5— 



then: the Scornful Sadducee, the Stern Phar- 
isee, the Keen Philosopher, the Earnest Seeker 
after Truth, and the Mild Rabbi. And before 
reading further see if you can find each of 
these in the picture, for they are all there, 
and in some one of them each of us is there. 

Of course it is easy to pick out The Boy 
Christ, for there is only one boy there. Jesus 
is talking to the men. He seems to be telling 
them something, we do not know just what, 
but when we look at their faces, and they in- 
dicate that they believe, or disbelieve, what 
he is saying, we can readily understand that 
Christ is pouring into their minds thoughts 
and suggestions that startle them. 

Now let us proceed with the study of each 
man, and see if we can tell from the study of 
his face, his hands, his whole attitude, the 
kind of a person he is. 

First, let us take the fellow to your left, up 
in the corner, standing back of the man who 
has his elbow on the desk and his hand on his 
chin. He is looking over the shoulder of the 
man between himself and the boy, and you are 
urged to study his eyes very carefully, and in 
doing so you immediately get the suggestion 
that he is harsh, that he is grouchy, that he 
is coarse. 

If, while this man were walking down the 
sidewalk he should see a dog sitting in front 
of him, the probabilities are he would feel like 
kicking the dog from the walk, rather than 
to go around him. If he were a boy playing 
on the school ground he would want his way. 
He would not hesitate to be cruel in order to 
gain his point. This man is self centered, for 
his strong inclination is to look out for him- 
self. 

Then take a look at the deep, straight line 
that begins above the end of his nose, and 
extends down past the corners of his mouth, 
and we will find, too, that the corners of his 



-6— 





mouth turn down, as is shown in the outline 
drawing on this page. There are two types of 
muscles in the hu- 
man face, one known 
as the Elevator mus- 
cles, and the other 
known as the De- 
pressor muscles, but 
this is not the place 
for us to go into 
detailed descriptions, 
or working of these muscles; this will be found 
in a book on character reading. This char- 
acter is the Scornful Sadducee; compare the 
shape of his mouth with the outline drawing 
on this page. 

After you have read this and go among your 
acquaintances, on the street, or wherever it 
may be, note the expression in the eyes, the 
lines of the face, the direction of the mouth 
line, the similarity to this Scornful Sadducee, 
for you will surely find them in some folks, 
for they are there. 

Before going further, it might be well for 
us to make some comments, something along 
this line, that our faces are a history, they in- 
dicate the mould of character, they tell of a 
past the same as the history of nations do. 

If the muscles of the face were never moved 
until one was in mature years, the face would 
indicate that of a mental imbecile, devoid of 
any intellectual look, or characteristics, for our 
faces are moulded by our thinking. 

This Scornful Sadducee is the type of an in- 
vidual who would probably ignore the person 
who stood for the right, or, he might even 
make fun of such a person. These character- 
istics came up through generations, and the 
sternness of character which is indicated in 
the outward appearance of this man, and in 
the looks of his face, are simply what might 
be expected, for we grow the face that indi- 
cates, or matches, or illustrates, or is the 
counterpart of the life we have lived. 

—7— 



This Sadducee is amazed at the boy's wis- 
dom, but he will not accept it. He is not 
willing to learn. Do you ask, how we know? 
Well, he has written the story on his own face. 

Next let us look at the man sitting in the 
chair with the book on his lap. Notice how 
he is holding his fingers between the leaves 
of the pages of the book. There is no doubt 
but what this book is the Law of the Jews. 
This man belongs to the Pharisee division, or 
class, of people of his time. They were espe- 
cially trained to know the Law, and it was 
their work to instruct other people who had 
not studied the Law and were not familiar 
with what it said. 

There were only a few of these books of the 
Jewish Law in existence, so that the informa- 
tion it contained could not be studied by many, 
therefore it fell to the lot of the Pharisees to 
know the Law. No doubt this man could 
quote practically page after page of this book. 
No doubt he could tell you the word and page. 
No doubt he could recite it as we would recite 
a well known poem, for his life had been given 
to the study of this book. 

Note the way he holds his left hand between 
the pages. The next time you see a person 
using a book in an argument, and they feel 
they are getting the worst of the argument, 
you will find them looking for some other 
place in the book to maintain their statements. 
While they are waiting for the person with 
whom they are discussing to finish, they will 
hold their hand or fingers between the pages, 
ready to meet the arguments of the antag- 
onist. 

Notice, too, that the boy seems to under- 
stand the book. Notice how, with his left 
hand, he is pointing to the very page of the 
book that the man, no doubt, has been refer- 
ring to. He had learned at his mother's knee 
what this book said. Mary had taught him 
concerning the Law, and he too could repeat 
much of it word for word. 

—8— 



Just how far Christ, because of his divine 
relationship, had gone into the study of the 
Law, no one knows. So far as the study of 
this picture is concerned, we can only judge 
by his looks and his attitude. And just here 
we want to call your attention to the hand 
Christ is pointing toward the book. There is 
no sternness in the way the hand is held. 
There is just simply the plain, flat statement 
of the person who knows his ground. If 
Christ were undecided, if he were irritated, 
you would find the hand tense; you would find 
the fingers drawn closer together. When talk- 
ing with a person in a heated argument and 
you have any doubt as to whether or not they 
are becoming deeply agitated, notice their 
gestures. Watch how they hold their hands. 

Notice too, how the Pharisee sits in the 
chair. There is no lopping down, no slouch- 



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iness of position. The very set of his head 
and stiffness of his neck denotes a determined 
and stern character. In opposition to the po- 
sition of this Pharisee we call your attention 

—9— 



to the drawing we have had made on this page. 
Notice how this chap is sitting and compare 
it with the attitude of the Pharisee. 

It is interesting to even study the beard of 
this Pharisee. It also, indicates sternness of 
character. Notice that it does not lie down 
on his breast, but seems to stick straight out 
from his chin. It seems to have a determined 
character within itself which causes it to stand 
alone. This leads us to state that we have 
learned that persons with coarse hair and 
coarse, rough skins, are usually not those of 
the finer characteristics. They are usually 
not the deeply intellectual persons. But when 
the hair is coarse and stands out in a de- 
termined way, you will usually find a set, or 
stubborn, characteristic, or a tendency toward 
some coarseness in the make up of the person. 

Then too, you will notice that this Pharisee 
has a very prominent nose, which nearly al- 
ways indicates a strong character, one of a 
determined nature, and by noticing the posi- 
tion of the whole head, you immediately get 
the suggestion of the person who is not easily 
taught, or easily led. In fact, the whole life, 
purpose and characteristics of the life of the 
Pharisees were bred in these people, and this 
produced a sternness of character that is in- 
dicated in the attitude and looks of this man's 
face. 

The reader will remember that it was the 
Pharisee, this stern character, that repri- 
manded Christ for doing a kind deed on the 
Sabbath day, for it had been their teaching 
that regardless of the need, or regardless of 
the suffering, the absolute letter of the law 
must be enforced. And here again, we find 
written in the attitude and in the face of this 
man, the principles we mentioned in speaking 
of the artist in the beginning of this writing. 
And if you look about you, as we have said 
before, you will find written on our faces and 
in our attitudes the history of the past. 

The next person we want to talk about is 

—10— 



the man standing at the desk by the side of 
Jesus. Here is an entirely different char- 
acter. Here we have a keen philosopher. The 
man who, rather than being so stubborn and 
determined, is more inclined to reason things 
out. His nose is also prominent, and the 
marks in his face are just as pronounced as 
are those in the stern Pharisee. This man is 
evidently firm in his thinking, but remember 
that there is quite a bit of difference between 
being firm and being stern. Firmness is a 
most necessary quality but sternness is a 
harshness and is a form of stubbornness. For, 
if we had no firmness in our make up, w<> 
would belong to that class who are continually 
being run over and imposed upon by others. 
A "wishy-washy" so to speak. But notice 
that this man's attitude is not indicative of 
argument. And when you see a person strike 
the attitude this man is in, the argument is 
practically over. Then too, if this man wanted 
to argue, he would not have his hand over his 
mouth. Notice the argufier on the street 
corner, or any other place, and you never find 
his hand over his mouth, for he is too anxious 
to do the talking himself. This man, the keen 
philosopher, enjoys listening. This is indi- 
cated by his having his elbow on the desk and 
his hand over his mouth, holding his chin. He 
is listening, he is reasoning as Christ talks. 

There is one trait of human nature that 
should be mentioned here, and that is, it seems 
there is something in our make up which 
causes us, when meditating about some very 
important question, to put our hand or hands 
to some part of our head. Notice people when 
they are thinking seriously. Notice the student 
in school, for instance, when he is trying to 
untangle a difficult mathematical problem and 
you will find the hand has a tendency to go to 
the part of the body that does the thinking. 

The writer well remembers, while in college, 
a young man who, it seems, was not very 
diligent in studying his lessons. When the 

—11— 




professor asked him a question he could 
not answer, he had the habit of putting 
his right hand to his forehead and tapping 
the forehead with his front finger. So one 
day the professor saw him doing this and said: 
Mr. Leslie, there is no use in knocking, there 
is no one at home. 

The salesman will do well to watch his pros- 
pect and when he sees the hand go to the 
head, and especially to the forehead, nine 
times out of ten you will know that you have 
the prospect thinking, and that very seriously. 

The philosopher, no doubt, is resting his el- 
bow on the same kind of a book that the 
Pharisee is holding in his lap. He too, is a 
student of the law. He knows as much and 



—12— 



probably more about the law than the Phar- 
isee does, but he approaches it with a different 
attitude. 

We would lose much of the value of this 
study if we did not stop a moment to look at 
the eye of the philosopher. After you have 
noticed this eye, keep it in mind, for later on 
we are going to compare this eye with some 
other eyes in the picture. This man has what 
would be termed a keen eye, or an intelligent 
eye. There is a sharpness about it, and you 
will notice that it is wide open. And remem- 
ber this wide-open phase of the eye in study- 
ing some other eyes in the picture. 

The open minded individual, that is the one 
who is intent on learning, is much more in- 
clined to have the wide open rather than the 
squinting eye. Usually the student really in- 
tent on learning, seldom draws the eyes to a 
squinting position, except when they feel they 
have hit a knotty problem, or when they are 
about to see through, or conquer the informa- 
tion they desire. Then too, the wide open eye 
usually indicates a more even temperament 
than does the squinting eye. Among some of 
our very prominent men we find some very in- 
teresting eyes. For instance, Theodore Roose- 
velt's eyes were of the squinting type, with 
lids closely drawn together. We do know that 
Mr. Roosevelt suffered some physical ailments 
of the eye, and this squinting look may have 
been caused partly by this physical defect, yet 
his eyes tell us unmistakably that he was of 
the extremely aggressive, pugnacious and im- 
pulsive type. 

The keen-eyed philosopher is the type of 
man who never pretends to know more than 
he does. He is the type of man who has fast 
friends, for none of us like the individual who 
poses as knowing a whole lot, when in reality 
he may not know but very little. 

There is one other characteristic in this man 
that we should mention, and that is that usu- 
ally the deep thinker, the keen philosopher, is 

—IS— 



not a man of many words, and where a dis- 
cussion is going on, as is indicated in this pic- 
ture, he is more liable to not say anything 
than he is to enter into the discussion. He 
never argues just for the sake of arguing. 
But when he did talk, what he said would be 
to the point and you would find it difficult to 
change his opinion, unless you gave him facts. 
If he disagreed with you he would listen to 
what you had to say, and if he found you were 
right, he would not hesitate in saying so. 

Do you act and look like the philosopher? 
Or have we found you yet in this inter- 
pretation? If not, possibly your time is yet 
to come. 

The next man is standing by the Pharisee, 
the one holding out his hand toward the boy. 
And here we have not only an entirely different 




attitude from any of the rest so far mentioned, 
but we have an entirely different looking face, 



—14— 



and from him we are going to learn a number 

of things. 

First, let us notice the way he holds his 
hand, and remember what was said about the 
hand in speaking of Christ. The position of 
that man's hand does not indicate stubborness. 
It does not indicate a command; but rather, it 
indicates an agreeing with the boy. And it 
might be well to remember that usually in 
giving a command, where the hand is used, the 
fingers are nearly always closed and the front 
finger pointing straight out and the thumb 
closed down over the fingers. Get in a room 




by yourself and just imagine you are giving 
someone a stern, determined command, and you 
will find that your hand will close up, and 
under such conditions will never strike the at- 
titude indicated in this picture. And here we 
call your attention to the boy and the teacher 
in the drawing. This teacher is giving this 

—15— 



boy a stern command, for look at her face. 
Now turn to the other picture and notice here 
the teacher is not giving a rigid command, 
that is, she may be asking the girl to hand 
her the papers in question, but she is doing 
it in a kindly way. She is rather asking a 
favor in the handing of the paper instead of 
giving a command. One is a displeased com- 
mand while the other is a pleased command. 

So much for the attitude or position of this 
man's hand, but in studying the position and 
attitudes indicated by the hand, notice your 
friends around you, for the most of them use 
their hands in talking, for indicating their 
thought and many times the hand tells as 
much, or if possible, more of a story than does 
the face. 

Now, remember what has been said about 
the hand and immediately you will come to the 
conclusion that this man, the Earnest Seeker 
after Truth, is believing what the boy is say- 
ing. Look at this man's face, and it tells the 
same story that the hand tells. There is a 
kindness in that look, there is a gentleness 
there, and you are wondering how we know 
what makes it look so. Well, it is because the 
muscles at the corners of the mouth, or rather, 
extending from the eyes down past the corners 
of the mouth, have a tendency to draw up- 
ward instead of downward. And if you could 
take this man's face, just as it appears in the 
picture, without the movement of a muscle 
being made, and turn the skin back, you would 
be surprised at what you would find. You 
could take a little pair of pliers or pinchers 
that the surgeon or student in the dissecting 
room uses, and give a little more tension to 
these muscles that are pulling upward in this 
man's face, and you would find you would pro- 
duce still more of a pleased or pleasant look; 
really, you would bring a grin to the face. And 
the person who attempts to study character as 
written in the face, without knowing the 
position of the muscles of the face and how 

—16— 



they act, without having really gotten under 
the skin at them, will find it difficult to ex- 
plain just why the face writes the story that 
it does. 

No doubt this seeker after truth is saying 
to himself, that the prophets, hundreds and 
thousands of years before, had prophesied the 
coming of Christ. No doubt this man, in 
studying the book of the law and of the proph- 
ets had been anticipating the coming of the 
Christ. As to whether or not this man be- 
lieves that this boy is the Christ, we do not 
know, and it probably would be presuming to 
go so far as to even sugest it. The prob- 
abilities are that up to the time of this ap- 
pearance of Christ in the Temple, he had not 
made it known that he was the Christ, and 
there are those who feel that Christ himself 
did not know that he really was the promised 
one. 

We do know that this seeker after truth is 
in wonderment because of the knowledge of 
this boy. He is looking into the boy's earnest, 
there the bright, wide-open, frank and tender 
expression. He believes in the boy and in 
what the boy is saying. His whole attitude 
seems to be one of something like this: here 
honest, good and pure looking face. He sees 
lad, is my hand, and I pledge you my heart 
I will stand by you whatever may happen. 

The last man in the picture is the Mild Rabbi, 
leaning on his cane. He is white haired, white 
whiskered, and this man's whole attitude, his 
face, everything is enough to make a study for 
a whole twelve months. 

His eyes, and by the way, remember that 
back a little farther we told you that in speak- 
ing of the philosopher we would again come 
to the question of eyes in analyzing another 
man of the picture. The Rabbi's eyes are not 
wide open like the boy's, or like the philoso- 
pher's. Rather, there is a drawing together of 
the eyelids. Something of the type that you 
would expect to find in the face of the in- 

—17— 



CHARACTER A] 


Characteristics 


Boy i 
Christ 


Refined 

Manners ■*■ 

Coarse 


^ # Refined 

Conversation ■*■ 

Coarse 


- 


Temperament <* 

Impulsive 


-| 


—^ Agreeable 

Disposition ■*- 

Disagreeable 







_^ - # Attractive 

Personality ■*■ 

Repulsive 






n . «•'• Spiritual 

Plane of Living ^ 

Animal 







^- Good 

Character ■*■ 

Bad 







The reading matter associated with this chart is found on page 11 \\ 
the reader can chait his own characteristics and have a record that will to 



ALYSIS CHART 


rnfol 
dacee 


Stern 
Pharisee 


Keen 

Philosopher 


Earnest 

Seeker 

after Truth 


Mild 
Rabbi 


Self 


























i 




















































































































































































' 

















































1 1 will be noticed on this chart that we have provided a column where 
il've valuable. 



dividual who was just determining that they 
would be deceitful, that they would get the best 
of somebody. Get before the mirror and get 
these different moods in your own life. Watch 
your eyes. Watch the muscles in your own 





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face, for your face, just as the faces in Hoff- 
mann's great picture, is molded and fashioned 
by the same natural rules of life. 

By this time the reader has found that when 
Mr. Hoffmann painted the faces in this picture, 

—20— 



he simply painted life as these people had 
lived it, and your face has on it the outline of 
the life you have lived. 

Notice the lines in this Rabbi's face, and you 
will find that the wrinkle, or mark, does not 
run up near the middle of his nose, as does the 
line in the scornful Sadducee that we first 
studied. These lines in the Rabbi seem to start 
near the end of the nose and run diagonally 
out past the corner of the mouth. And in con- 
nection with this thought we are reproducing a 
drawing we have had made of a man without 
whiskers, and sometimes we have been tempted 
to have some artist take the whiskers off of the 
faces of Hoffmann's picture, that we might 
more easily get at the lines of their faces. 

Take a card, or a blank piece of paper, and 
place it over the upper part of the drawing 
we are presenting, and laying it on the line 
running from one to two, look at the ex- 
pression. Now compare it with the expression 
on the lower part of the face of the Scornful 
Sadducee, or the first character we studied. 

Next take you paper and place it from three 
to four, covering up the chin and the farther 
corner of the mouth, just leaving the top of 
the nose untouched, note how the upper lip 
turns upward, and see how the end of the nose 
seems to draw down toward the mouth. 

Now, reader, look into a mirror and try to 
sneer. Watch your upper lip draw upward on 
the side where you sneer the worst. Now 
sneer on the other side; sneer on both sides 
at the same time; sneer hard and watch how 
much your upper lip draws upward, and how 
the end of your nose seems to draw downward 
toward the lip. Watch what a deep line it 
causes from your nose down toward the corner 
of your mouth when you sneer hard. Now 
then, turn back to the Rabbi and in the light 
of the experience you have had with this piece 
of paper and the picture we are giving you, 
study the face again, for just as surely as you 
live, this Rabbi has sneered a good many times, 

—21— 



so many times that the muscles in his face 
have painted there a perpetual and prominent 
sneer. 

The lines in the face and the expression on 
the face are caused by continually drawing the 
muscles in the same way many, many times, 
and the muscles of the face are moved accord- 
ing to the way one feels inside. And this leads 
you to understand that in the interpretation 
of this picture, we are simply getting at the 
human mind and its characteristics. 

If you are happy and good natured and have 
a smile for everyone, the elevator muscles of 
your face will raise the corners of your mouth, 
and have a tendency to turn upward. If you 
are grouchy and sour and scornful, the de- 
pressor muscles of your face will draw down 
and the corners of your mouth will turn down. 
If you sneer at other people very much, and 
you continue to do so, your face will grow to 
look just like a sneer as anyone's face will. 
We mould our faces in exact accordance with 
the way we think. 

There is no more interesting study than 
human beings, and remember that in order for 
you to paint your character, to paint your very 
self on your face, it is not necessary for you 
to be talking all of the time. All you have 
to do is just think. 

The reason this Rabbi looks so suspicious to 
us is because, through intuition, we draw our 
conclusions. Perhaps nature put this charac- 
teristic into us for our own protection, for we 
form our opinion quickly that this Rabbi is not 
dependable. 

Look at this man's hands as they rest on 
the top of his cane. There is no indication of 
action. The hands, nor the fingers of the hand, 
indicate any interest at all in what the boy is 
saying. They are laying there, idle, not wish- 
ing to take any part. This is the type of an in- 
dividual that waits to see how the tide goes, 
how the wind blows, which side is going to 

—22— 



come out ahead. He wants everybody to be- 
lieve that he is on their side, and of course, to 
do this, he does not dare to take part in the 
argument, and if he were not with these other 
men, he would try to make the Boy Christ be- 
lieve that he was on his side; that he believed 
everything he said. In this type we have the 
hypocrite, the deceitful person. 

We would lose much of the value of this 
study if we did not again turn to the face of 
Christ, for in studying it, or in studying the 
face of any boy of his age, we can learn a great 
deal. In the first place, notice there are no 
lines in the boy's face, and neither is there in 
the average boy's face at his age. And why? 
Reader, ask yourself the question, Why is it 
there are not a lot of lines in a child's face? 
And it is unnecessary for us to tell you that 
it is simply because the characteristics are not 
yet written with lines in their faces. They 
have not lived long enough as the human flesh 
is most elastic and requires years of operation 
for the emotions to have produced lines in the 
face. But every child should be taugh that 
even though he has no lines in his face, he is 
forming them each day and that already there 
is enough expression in his face that folks can 
tell much of the kind of a disposition he has, 
and the kind of a person he is going to be when 
he grows up. If you need any further proof 
as to the child's face revealing his inner self, 
you have only to look at the face of the Boy 
Christ in this picture, or to look at the faces 
of the children of his age in your own 
neighborhood. 

Many a child at the age of six, and some 
much younger, have such a pronounced ex- 
pression that most any one can distinctly see 
it. Not only should the parents teach their 
children of this great principle, but also should 
the parents realize that a great responsibility 
is upon them as to the way their child de- 
velops his characteristics. Many parents are 
to blame for the hateful, or spiteful, or selfish, 

—23— 



or haughty, or egotistical manners their chil- 
dren possess. And generally these character- 
istics are developed in children by teasing 
them, or allowing them to have just about 
every thing they want, or by letting them do 
just about as they please while they are yet 
very young. Many a parent is glad when their 
child gets old enough to go to school, and for 
no higher purpose than to get rid of him at 
home and put him in the care of the teacher 
that he might be compelled to mind. May God 
have mercy upon the parent who has lost con- 
trol of their child before he is twelve years of 
age and may He have pity on the child. 

There are some striking things on the face 
of Christ, and because we know of his after 
life, it is an interesting study to note the face. 
There is firmness there. That is a determined 
quality to stand for the right. In his eyes and 
in his manly pose there is the indication of 
knowing what he is talking about, and when 
you meet people, when you try to persuade 
them, remember this face of Christ. Compare 
his face with most any other in this picture, 
and you will find it an intensely interesting 
experience. What was it that made the Phari- 
see what his face indicates ? What was it that 
made the philosopher, with a roll in his hand, 
listen so closely to the boy ? What was it that 
made any of these characters what they are? 
Simply that when they were boys they began 
building into their lives the things we have 
been studying. 

Why does the deceitful Rabbi look so sus- 
picious to us? Simply because he has 
practiced deceitful ways all of his life. He has 
sneered at the good. He has been pious when 
in a pious crowd. He has been rough when in 
a rough crowd. And these things have simply 
grown to be a part of him. 

It is not out of place in drawing this inter- 
pretation to a close, to refer to one statement 
made by Solomon when he said: "That as a 
man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Solomon 

—24— 



gave expression to a truth that is so deep, so 
eternal, so everlasting that it is worth the 
study of the keenest and shrewdest minds of 
any age. Once all of us learn that the char- 
acteristics, that the things which we build 
into our lives, not only show in our actions, 
but in our very faces, in our very attitude, 
in our position when standing, or sitting, or 
talking; once we realize that what we are, is 
an open book to those about us, to our friends, 
to everybody, it will revolutionize our thinking, 
for our thinking finally becomes actions, our 
thinking becomes us. 

None of us would want what we really are, 
painted on a great canvas and stretched in our 
neighborhood where everybody could read it, 
and yet while it is not written on a canvas and 
stretched in our neighborhoods, we carry it 
around every day, wherever we go, in our 
faces. 

Now we refer you to the Character Chart 
in the center of this book. 



MAKING UP THE CHARACTER ANALYSIS 
CHART 

The accompanying character analysis chart 
on the center pages gives the reader an op- 
portunity to check up on the information he 
has obtained in the reading of this little book, 
but do not attempt to fill out this chart until 
you have read the foregoing pages — yes read 
them thoroughly. Until you have done this 
reading you are not in a position to make use 
of the chart. 

We will now take it for granted that you 
have read this book and we are ready to start 
with the charting of actual character of each 
person in the picture. 

The first person to be considered is the Boy 
Christ, and in the making of this chart it 
makes no difference whatever, whether or not 
you believe in the divinity of Christ. You may 
keep your present opinion, but all thinking 

—25— 



peoples, and history, tells us that the man 
Christ lived a perfect life, that he was without 
sin, that he did no wrong, and only good. If 
we all live the life that Christ lives there 
would be no wrong, or no sin, in the world. 
Jew and Gentile alike, agree on the high 
character of Christ, and for the purposes of 
this book and character chart, it makes no 
difference whether you think Christ was the 
one promised in the ages, long, long ago, or 
not. 

Because of the admitted qualities and char- 
acter of Christ, you will place a check (x) after 
the first classification in each of the divisions, 
except in that of Temperament. This indicates 
the perfect being, and is the standard by 
which we are to compare every individual life. 
We call your attention to the way Christ's 
life checks up in this chart. You will notice 
he makes a perfect score, therefore in analyz- 
ing the other characters in * the picture, or 
characters outside of the picture, we are cer- 
tainly justified in measuring each by this 
perfect standard, and mind you this, regardless 
of what your opinion of Christ may be, he 
scores a perfect life, as indicated by this chart. 

Before considering other characters in this 
picture it is necessary that we give you some 
information on the thing we call Temperament, 
for it is somewhat difficult for the in- 
experienced person to distinguish the difference 
between Temperament and Disposition. Yoii 
might find some difficulty in giving a definition 
of each, and you would have more difficulty in 
explaining the difference to someone else. 

There is a great deal of difference between 
Temperament and Disposition and yet they are 
closely related. 

Temperament deals with one's physical tend- 
encies and principally with the physical side 
of life. 

Disposition relates principally to the mind 
and its power to control physical tendencies. 

—26— 



In other words Disposition is what by our will 
power, we make of our Temperaments. For 
example — it is quite possible for an individual 
to have physical tendencies toward irritable- 
ness, and peevishness, but at the same time the 
person might control this feeling which his 
muscles would have a tendency to put into 
action, and not allow them to act, or to say 
their feelings. Many a person has had just 
such natural tendencies, and yet, by the use 
of their will power have mastered their phys- 
ical tendencies and by so doing very largely 
eliminated the desire. 

Any one who has sufficient will power can 
master his impulsive Temperament and 
possess an agreeable Disposition. And the 
person who says he cannot do this pronounces 
judgement on himself, and of necessity must 
admit that his will power is weaker than his 
physical tendencies. As a last definition dis- 
tinguishing between Temperament and Dis- 
position let us say that Temperament is phys- 
ical tendencies, and Disposition is largely what 
the will power makes of these physical 
tendencies. 

Next let us take the Scornful Sadducee and 
note the bold expression in his eye, the lines 
about his mouth, the curve of the mouth line, 
the position of his head and his general at- 
titude. Consider these in the light of what 
was said about him on former pages, and this 
reveals his life. History tells us he belonged 
to a sect that had lived the kind of a life this 
man's face tells us about. You will make no 
mistake as to exactly how to check him, placing 
check after the last classification in each of 
the seven divisions, and notice that we have 
here the exact contrast of the record Christ 
made in our chart. It represents the lower, 
or animal, standard of living. 

In this book it is impossible for us to give a 
full analysis by just what is meant by the 
Plane of Living. The fullness of its meaning, 
and the proper explanation of it is given in 

—27— 



the complete interpretation of the master 
painting "Daniel in the Lions Den" by Riviere, 
and of course it is completely given in books 
dealing with scientific character reading, which 
are extremely interesting reading. 

Each individual lives on one of three planes, 
namely, Spiritual, Moral, or Animal. When a 
man lives on the Spiritual Plane, his pre- 
dominating thoughts are of God. 

Just here, and for the fear the reader may 
be one who has never realized how closely 
spirituality is related to all persons let us 
suggest that in the whole history of man, re- 
gardless of what part of the earth we found 
him living in, there has always been present 
a tendency toward some type of spiritual 
thinking. No reasoning man will, for one 
moment, contend but what someway, somehow, 
we all have a tendency toward spiritual things. 

If a man lives on the Moral Plane his pre- 
dominating thoughts are of others, and if he 
lives on the Animal Plane his predominating 
thoughts are of self. Animals have one in- 
stinct, and that is self preservation, they look 
out for themselves and this is what is meant 
by the Animal Plane. It will not be necessary 
to say more, but if you will sit down and think 
hard on these three points, you can check your- 
self, or others, quite accurately. These sub- 
jects are more completely covered in books 
dealing with self development and efficiency. 

The classification of the next four persons, 
that is so far as checking them in this chart 
is concerned, is not so easy, but if we study 
every face and form by what has been said 
on previous pages, we will have no trouble in 
checking each of the four quite accurately. 

The Stern Pharisee is our next man. 
Webster says that "Stern, means harsh, or 
severe, in countenance or manners," and this 
Pharisee's posture, and his attitude, have been 
explained in the pages about him. En- 
cyclopedias tell us that the Pharisee came to 

—28— 



feel they were the only people who were living 
right, that they became over-bearing and self 
centered, and therefore we cannot classify this 
man as refined in manners, for refinement 
means due respect for other peoples' ideas and 
feelings. He may not necessarily be coarse, 
and we know assuredly not so coarse as the 
Scornful Sadducee, therefore you may check 
him as medium in Speech and Manners. 

What about this man's Disposition? Any 
person who is continually arguing, who is 
stubborn, who thinks their ideas are always 
correct, who regards the ideas of others not 
equal to their own, is certainly not the most 
agreeable person. You may check this man 
in the second classification in this division. 

In Temperament, dullness certainly does 
not fit him, for he is not dull. Neither can 
he be considered calm for he would very 
quickly resent any idea, or statement, which 
did not meet with his approval. We can only 
check him in the third classification in 
Temperament. 

Now if you will sum up the records of the 
four divisions already checked you can easily 
see that he would not be checked as at- 
tractive in Personality, and yet he may not 
be repulsive, so we will give him the benefit 
of the doubt and check him as Medium in Per- 
sonality. 

The next two divisions — Plane of Living and 
Character — is where we will have our difficulty, 
and we will find the same difficulty in checking 
the Keen Philosopher. The main reason for 
this is that we have only a picture to study 
and look at. Were it possible for a keen 
student of character reading to be where he 
could look into the faces of these men and as- 
sociate with them, see their gestures, see them 
walk, see the way they stand, and hear them 
talk, he could quite accurately check these 
qualities, but from a picture we are limited 
in our ability to read character and to judge 
the Plane on which these men are living. 

—29— 



This Stern Pharisee may actually think he 
is living a spiritual life. In fact they did so 
think. You remember the story of how the 
Pharisee prayed aloud on the street corners, 
that he was thankful he was not as the Pub- 
lican. It is not at all likely that he is living 
on the Spiritual Plane and yet he might be. 
The probabilities are that he is living on the 
Moral Plane. He could be living on the Animal 
Plane, and yet have the checks exactly as 
they have been indicated so far by our chart. 
The only thing we can do is to make a question 
mark to cover these three classifications. If 
we cannot arrive at his Plane of Living we 
certainly cannot check his Character, and again 
the reader should remember that we are 
studying a picture and not a living person. 

Of the men here portrayed the Keen 
Philosopher is the most interesting of the five. 
He is wonderful, and there is one most noble 
character in history with whom this man might 
well be compared. We refer to Solomon, the 
wisest of all men, the third King of the Jews. 
But we must make up our chart on the Keen 
Philosopher, and later compare him to Solo- 
mon. 

From the Philosopher's expression, his keen 
eyes, the manner in which he is posed, his 
general appearance indicates that he is refined 
in Manners and Conversation, therefore we 
may, without making a mistake, check him in 
the first classification of these two divisions. 
The Keen Philosopher's Disposition is agree- 
able so we can again check him in the first 
classification. We can easily see that his 
Temperament is not dull, you could not run 
over him; he has a great amount of dignity; 
his judgement is keen; he is not firey and im- 
pulsive; he thinks before making a statement, 
therefore we can rightly class him as calm, 
which is the best of the three for any station 
or any position in life. 

As for the Philosopher's Personality, we 
certainly must admire him for he commands 

—30— 



our admiration in manner and countenance. 
You would like to possess the dignity and ap- 
pearance of this man. His Personality is 
most attractive, so we know he deserves a 
check in the first classification of this division. 

As to the Plane of Living of the Philosopher 
we are "at sea." He may be living on any 
one of the three, but with all his high rating in 
the other five things he should be living on the 
highest plane, that of the Spiritual. If he is 
living on the Spiritual Plane, then his rating 
is as nearly perfect as mortal man can be, to 
that of the standard set by Jesus. Not that 
the Philosopher is as perfect in life as Jesus, 
but in the making of this chart he checks with 
him, point by point. 

This Philosopher, even with all his high 
rating in the five divisions could be living on 
the Moral Plane, and by the way we find 
many, many men so living. They live most 
desirable lives, but they are neglecting entirely 
the spiritual side of their lives. And again 
he might be checked with these five high 
qualities and be living on the Animal Plane, 
the lower of the three on which any individual 
can live, but it is not probable for such con- 
ditions would be abnormal in such a life. 

Let us again refer to Solomon for he grew 
from childhood living wholly on the Spiritual 
Plane. But Solomon, with all of his wisdom; 
his refined manners and conversations; his 
agreeable disposition; his calm, cool, and most 
righteous judgement; his most attractive and 
commanding personality; his most lofty spirit- 
uality; a character above reproach — Solomon 
— with all his glory fell from the Spiritual, 
even down past the Moral Plane into the 
lower depths of the Animal Plane. He hit 
the carnel life that is not even known by 
animals. 

What is this Keen Philosopher's Plane of 
Living — we cannot know — we cannot see the 
man — we can therefore mark him in this Di- 

—31— 



vision and in Character the same as the Stern 
Pharisee, with a question mark. 

The Earnest Seeker after Truth is easily 
checked, his gesture, and kindly expression 
show clearly that he should be checked in the 
first classification of the first three Divisions, 
but as to his Temperament he does not come up 
to the standard. This is his one weak point. 
He is dull in Temperament; he is inclined to 
let others impose upon him. A Salesman who 
was not inclined to take the interest of the 
customer into consideration could get him into 
a proposition which he would afterwards 
regret. This man could not have taken a whip, 
and single handed, driven the money changers 
from the temple, as did Jesus. So we are 
forced to give this man a check in the first 
classification in Temperament, which is a de- 
fect, or short coming. 

The Earnest Seeker after Truth certainly 
does have an attractive Personality, because he 
is the very personification of truth, honesty, 
and patience. Check him in the first classifi- 
cation in Personality. We will make no mis- 
take whatever on his Plane of Living. His 
gesture of approval of the statements made by 
Jesus, and the expression on his kindly face 
reveals the spiritual and righteous life. So 
check him. , 

Sum up the above six divisions and you 
have his Character and know just where to 
check him in this Division. 

The person who has had the responsibility 
of managing people can now see the value in 
being able to chart a man's qualities. Many 
a school superintendent, many a teacher, many 
a business man has employed a person having 
characteristics the same as has this Seeker 
After Truth, in most Divisions, but did not in- 
dicate weakness in Temperament. 

The last man, the Mild Rabbi, as is indicated 
by the description of this man in the foregoing 
pages, reveals the fact that he does not have 

—32— 



ideal manners and he does not converse much. 
He prefers to take no part, or side, in any 
question, therefore we can only check him as 
Medium in the first two Divisions. The Rabbi's 
Disposition is agreeable for you could not pick 
a quarrel with him, even if you tried to do 
so, so we must check him in Disposition as 
being agreeable. 

You could not make this Rabbi angry, there- 
fore he must be marked as dull in Tempera- 
ment. You certainly would not like his per- 
sonality, you would not know where to find him 
on any subject, he is as "slippery as an eel." 
You certainly would not pick out a man like 
him for an associate, for who does not despise 
hyprocrits ? He is repulsive in Personality and 
so check him. 

This man being deceitful is living on the 
plane of the wild cat species of the jungles, 
and we are compelled to check him as living 
on the Animal Plane. Again sum up the above 
six divisions and you must check him in the 
third classification of Character. 

Before closing what we have had to say 
about the Mild Rabbi we do want to say that 
the writer has no grudge, or feeling, against 
any Rabbi, for one of his good friends is a 
Rabbi, but in dealing with characters in a 
picture we must take them as we find them. 

It is impossible for us to close this rating 
without now asking the reader if Hoffmann's 
"Christ in the Temple" does not mean more 
to you than it did before you read this book? 
You have been given a glimpse of what the 
real artist tries to do. Never again, when you 
look upon this picture on any wall, will you 
feel that it was intended by the artist only for 
a wall decoration. The person who owns the 
picture you see may have, and probably has 
hung it there as a wall decoration, but if so, 
it is only because the life has not been touched 
by the real principles of the picture. 



—33— 



The study of human beings has been sadly, 
sadly neglected. We know how fast the flying 
machine can go. We know the speed of the 
race horse and the automobile, and we have 
dug and delved in the very bowels of mother 
earth, and we have discovered the last bit — 
the last piece — of ground on the earth, but of 
all things we know least about man. We are 
coming to the place, and that rapidly, where 
we will study him more. We are trying to 
know ourselves. 

If any person thinks the scientific study of 
the human face and characteristics is not for 
the common person to understand, let us re- 
mind you that it is only dealing with our 
minds, it is only learning how we make of our- 
selves what we are, and we urge you, beg of 
you, to continue your reading along these 
lines. Get other books dealing with some 
study of human nature, and while you have 
found this interesting it is only a beginning. 
Figuratively you have only been introduced to 
the teacher in the kindergarden department. 

"AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART 
SO IS HE."- Solomon. 



-34- 



HUMAN NATURE STUDY INSTITUTE 

Under direction of W. J. Pilkington. 
Des Moines, Iowa 



This Institute has been organized for the 
purpose of promoting a sane, common sense 
study of Human Nature. We desire to keep 
our feet on the ground and yet dig deep. What 
we do not know about this subject would 
make a much larger volume than what we do 
know. 

An interpretation of the picture, "Daniel in 
the Lion's Den," by Riviere, is being prepared. 
In some ways we believe it will be superior 
to the interpretation of "Christ in the Tem- 
ple." Other small books teaching how to read 
character and study human beings are being 
prepared. One small book will deal entirely 
with the development of self. 

Our lectuerors, dealing with the subject, Hu- 
man Nature, Picture Interpretation, etc., can 
be had for Commercial Clubs, Teachers' Insti- 
tutes, Women's Clubs, Public Schools, 
Churches, Business Institutions and others. 

Write us. If we do not have what you want 
we will tell you so. 



—35— 



